Lost Memories
by Oliviia
Summary: Injured in the battle of Hogwarts, Harry Potter did not become the war hero. He leads a peaceful, although unhappy life at Hogwarts. But one day, he meets a person that might change it forever.
1. Chapter 1

So I was going to write something else, but this just sort of came to me... Hope it will work out well. This is about Harry's alternative future, but since I ship Dramione, it's mentioned here as well.

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Harry Potter slowly walked to his first afternoon History of Magic class with the youngest Slytherins. After the Battle of Hogwarts, it was decided that young wizards needed "a fresh perspective", and professor Binns should get his well-deserved rest.

Harry's hip was really bothering him that day. He stopped for a moment to rest and looked out of the window, at the school grounds. The Gryffindor team was in the middle of trying out their new players. He felt a stab of pain in his heart. He was still young, only just turned thirty one, and he had to give up what he loved he most – Quidditch.

He tightened the grip on his cane and continued to the classroom, limping heavily. The students were probably waiting for him already.

"Professor" one of the boys spoke as he entered the classroom "Will you tell us how the minister Draco Malfoy defeated Tom Riddle in the war?"

"Scorpius already told us some things, but we didn't understand everything" someone else started.

"Why was the Elder Wand so powerful?" another voice followed "What about the prophecy?" "And why couldn't he defeat him earlier?" Now all the kids wanted to have their questions answered.

Harry silenced his new students raising his palm. He slowly made his way to the end of the room and carefully sat behind his desk.

Scorpius Malfoy was seated in the front row, looking straight at him.

At the first glance, he definitely resembled his father. The same blond hair and pale skin, but he was smiling, and his smile made Harry think about Hermione Granger – or Hermione Malfoy. He felt his heart squeeze a bit.

He realised that a dozen pair of curious eyes was staring at him with excitement, so he agreed to began the story. He told them how Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger and himself spent a year searching for the horcruxes – leaving out the details as for the exact way they worked – and eventually, when they arrived at Hogwarts to find the last one, they had to defend the castle and the rest of the wizarding world. Harry was captured by the Death-Eaters and tortured (well, he left out that detail as well), while Malfoy learned about being a true master of the Elder Wand and used it to defeat the Dark Lord.

"But... what about the prophecy?" One of the girls asked when he finished "Didn't it say that you were the one to defeat him, professor?"

"You shouldn't always believe the prophecies" Harry responded bitterly "Now we're going to move on to..." he looked at the clock on the wall "All right, you can go, next Wednesday we will have a proper lesson, mind you!"

Finally, the Slytherins left, loudly discussing the story. Walking back to his office, Harry reminisced his first days in Hogwarts. His life was supposed to turn out so differently... But after the battle and long months of painful recovery, he returned to school when all the students he had been friends with were already gone. He was two years older than most of his classmates, couldn't participate in any activities... He spent most of that awful year in the library, completely alone. What made him take a course in "Teaching the Magical History" and come back to Hogwarts? He didn't know. But it turned out to be the best decision he could have made. Malfoy and Hermione were busy working at the Ministry and raising kids, although he never got along with Malfoy anyway, especially after he became the war hero and the Minister of Magic. Ron was dead and the rest of his family wasn't speaking to Harry, as it there had been any way for him to prevent it. His only friend these days was Luna, who now edited the Quibbler with her father. Every week, she would send him a newly printed copy with a funny note inside. He responded with long letters and he knew she would always read them to Neville, who was still at St. Mungo's. Even if he didn't know who Luna or Harry was, or even who he was, for that matter.

But this Wednesday morning, there was no Quibbler issue on his desk. He didn't get one at lunch either. In those eight years that he has been working at Hogwarts, Luna's delivery was never late. He was worried.

Now that he remembered his doubts about her safety, he tried to fasten his pace. He needed to get to his office and owl Luna immediately. But the stress, the memories and the physical effort was too much for his damaged heart. He could barely breathe, so he stopped and leaned himself against the marble wall. He shut his eyes and waited for his heart rate to get back to normal. His head was aching.

"Is everything all right, professor?" He heard a quiet voice and opened his eyes. It was one of the first year Gryffindors, coming back from the practice. Her long red hair was gathered in a messy ponytail and she was wearing Quidditch robes. She looked at him with concern. What was her name? Margaret Lewandowski. Of course. Her father was the famous Polish Quidditch player and her mother... Her mother was the girl he once loved. Still loves...

"Sir?" she asked again.

He couldn't look at her.

"I'm fine, I'm just... I just need a moment" Harry said, turning away and waved at her to leave him alone. He heard the girl walk away. He tried to think about something else, but only Luna came to his mind, and that made him even more worried. He still had the little girl's eyes in his mind. There was something about them that he just couldn't stop thinking about...

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I'll be writing more, so let me know what you think so far!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews, FYI, I don't know how Draco could screw Harry out of being the savior, so I guess my answer is no, he didn't. To be clear, Harry got injured and someone had to do the job, and Draco was the Elder Wand's master so he did (in this fanfic he's on Harry side so there was no Malfoy Manor and no disarming. I don't like to explain stuff this way, but in case it's not clear from the chapter...) Anyway, here's the second one, it's kind of lame, but I'm getting to the more interesting stuff. Enjoy ;)

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Luna didn't respond until Saturday.

_Dear Harry,_

_I'm sorry about your Quibbler issue, I know how much you love it. I was quite busy this week. Remember that __Blibbering Humdinger's essence I told you about last month? Turns out it makes a powerful memory potion, just as I suspected. Neville started to recognise everyone in the hospital! Healer Jones says it's his potion that helped, but I doubt it. He used bat spleen as the main ingredient. Anyway, something worked and he's going to go home soon. I hope he'll still let me read your letters. I will make sure that you get the next Quibbler on time, Harry!_

_Yours_

_Luna_

_p.s. Be careful with your thoughts, I bet Hogwarts is still full of Nargles._

Harry didn't remember her talking about Blibbering Humdinger's essence and he doubted it contributed to Neville's recovery. He wanted to write back to Luna, but he didn't know what to say. Of course, he was happy for Neville, but he also realised that his recovery meant they would now move on. "Luna Longbottom, she'd like that" that thought made him smile.

_Dear Luna, _Harry started, whensomeone knocked to his door.

"Professor?" it was Margaret, again. He had a feeling she was following him. At every breakfast and dinner he could feel her eyes on him, even though she sat at the far end of the Gryffindor's table. On Friday she was outside his office before his first class, and he almost forgot it was with the 5th year. He was this close to telling them about the Witch Hunts instead of the Giant Wars.

"Excuse me, sir, I just wanted to ask about our homework" she said. Her tone made him think of Hermione.

"I didn't give you any homework yet" he realised.

"I know, but I talked to someone from second year and they said you always cover Elfric the Eager first and I found this book" she put an enormous volume in front of him "but I don't understand why his execution never happened. My friend told me you won't be covering this in class though, would you mind explaining this to me?"

She sounded almost like Hermione. How did she get smart like this, her father was just a Quidditch player, for Merlin's sake. Her mother though, that was a different story...

Harry sighed and told her everything he could remember about Elfric the Eager's amnesty.

"Oh I see... I'll be reading _Hogwarts, the History _next week. Do you mind if I come talk to you again after?" she smiled, which was a painful remainder of who her mother was.

"Not at all" Harry shook his head, intrigued by her eagerness to learn "it's an interesting book, and one that every Hogwarts student should read" Harry said. Even if I didn't read it until I finished school, he thought to himself.

"I know, it's my favourite book. I just want to refresh it a bit, now that I get to be here" she said resolutely.

"Really? When I was in my first year, I met a girl who was just like you, she loved that book very much" Harry finally smiled as well, but Margaret suddenly went silent.

"You... you went to school with my uncle Ronald, didn't you?" she said quietly.

Harry wasn't sure what to say. How much did she know about Ron and the war?

"Yes" he said finally.

"Did you know him well? My family always says how brave he was in the war, but they won't tell me how he was in everyday life, and I never got to meet him" her green eyes glistened, as if she was about to start crying. Harry wondered whether she knew that everyone blamed him for Ron's death.

"I know you fought in that war too, was he really that brave?" she asked.

"He was."

"And in life, in general, was he nice?"

"He was my best friend" Harry said firmly. Margaret stared at him for a long moment.

"It must have been difficult for you" she whispered.

Harry merely nodded.

"I better go" she said, standing up. "Good bye, professor."

Harry didn't say anything. He stared at the chair she had vacated for a good five minutes. Finally, he went back to his letter to Luna. It would have to wait until later, he decided, sending it to the rubbish bin.

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Thanks for reading! :)


	3. Chapter 3

Hi, it's been a while... anyway, I'm not sure this all makes sense, this story does have a point which will be clear at the end, but in case you don't like it... it's more of a writing exercise. Anyway, here's the next chapter, I'm planning 2 or 3 more, any suggestions let me know. Thanks for reading! :)

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Harry was sitting by the window. He happened to have an excellent view at the Quidditch Stadium and was now watching the last match of the season. Gryffindor was beating Slytherin, and officially won the game when Margaret Lewandowski caught the Snitch. Harry smiled unintentionally. Of course, her father was a famous player, her mother had quite a talent as well. No wonder they let her play in her first year at Hogwarts.

He went back to marking 5th years' essays and was close to finishing, when Margaret knocked to his door.

"Nice game" he greeted her.

"You watched it? I haven't seen you on the stands?"

"I watched it" Harry nodded. Margaret took her usual seat in front of his desk "Aren't you celebrating?"

"Oh I did, it's getting boring though. I got tired of the crowd and noise. It was hard work out there, I need to relax!"

Harry smiled at her. After a moment of hesitation, he stood up, walked up to his cupboard and took out a framed picture of a Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"This is our trophy in sixth year" He said, putting in on the desk and sitting back down slowly. Margaret picked it up and looked at the group of teenagers, waving to her from behind the frame.

"Is this... my uncle?" she inquired, looking at the boy who was holding the trophy, and Harry nodded. He still remembered that year when Ron was struggling with his confidence in his Quidditch skills.

"I bet you miss putting the Slytherins down a peg. The best feeling ever!" the girl's voice broke the silence. Harry laughed. How was it possible that this girl made him laugh so often? He had been such a lonely man before she turned up in his life.

"I suppose I do" he smiled "but I was friends with some of the Slytherins as well, at least towards the end of school."

"Yeah, I know, with Draco Malfoy" Margaret nodded "Oh, everyone knows about that" she laughed at his expression. "He told me how you, uncle Ron and aunt Hermione used to fight at first."

The smile disappeared from Harry's face as he realised what she had just said. Surely, she had been spending a lot of time with Hermione and Malfoy, being Ginny Weasley's daughter. Ginny and Hermione were always getting along.

"Yeah, well, you should go now, it's past curfew" he glanced at the clock on his wall. Margaret gave him a surprised look and left quietly, leaving him in a bad mood again.

A few days later Harry was gathering first year's essays after his last lesson when he was approached by Scorpius Malfoy.

"Professor" he spoke loudly and looked around to make sure the class was empty "Uncle Harry, my mum and dad wanted me to personally invite you to spend Christmas with us." He announced "Mum said she would write to you about this. hope you can come?" he was polite, but Harry wasn't sure if it was sincere. He was a Malfoy after all, and despite their friendship, Hermione and Draco didn't spend much time with Harry, who knew he was not a great company.

"I will think about it, thank you for letting me know Scorpius" he smiled. The boy nodded and quickly left the classroom.

A letter from Hermione arrived a week later at breakfast. It was friendly and enthusiastic, and Harry debated over taking the invitation. By the end of the day, when he finished his lessons and decided what homework he was going to set his students the next day, he knew that he wouldn't go see Hermione. The Malfoys, he corrected himself reluctantly.

He picked up the quill and wrote a short response, explaining that he had duties at Hogwarts and that was where he would be staying over Christmas. He rolled the parchment and stood up to find a suitable owl, but at this moment he heard a tap on the window and saw Luna's owl outside. He approached the window and took the letter from the bird who immediately turned away and soon disappeared.

Harry opened the parchment at once. The letter was exceptionally short.

_Harry,_

_I am so excited that you are coming to Hermione's Christmas party. Neville and I can't wait to see you. Please try not to bring the Nargles, they could worsen his memory._

_Love_

_Luna_

Harry smiled unintentionally. She knew him all too well. He sighed and walked back to his desk, putting the letters back on his desk. It looked like he was going to spend the holidays at Malfoys' after all.

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Now that I think about it, I didn't mention that Margaret was Ginny's daughter, but I really hope it was clear from the plot. I'd love to know what you think, so please review ;)


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